


I can't give you everything; take my heart instead

by violetstorm



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Pining, gladiodeservesmorelove2k19, the bros just comforting gladio tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 16:28:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,239
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18285992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/violetstorm/pseuds/violetstorm
Summary: Gladio gets injured in a hunt protecting Noct. It's no big deal, it's all just part of the job, right?The others don't take it as well.





	I can't give you everything; take my heart instead

**Author's Note:**

> slam dunks this into ao3 at 2am
> 
> i wanted to add more gladio whump but alas, I didn't have much time to write. sorry if this is kinda rushed...? ;;;;
> 
> hhh brb gonna run off to bed, hope you enjoy ♥

The first thing Gladio feels upon waking is _pain._ His stomach fuckin’ _hurts,_ like somebody’s yanking on his guts and twisting them around. Every breath he takes sends a sharp pain through his chest. He tries to move his arms but they feel like lead. His left arm’s particularly sore and his fingers refuse to cooperate with him when he tries to flex them.

Gladio thinks he groans, but his head’s filled with cotton and everything is muffled, like he’s underwater, so he can’t be completely sure. He cracks his eyes open slowly, one after the other. He’s in a dark room— a motel? The only light is coming from a lamp in a corner and there’s the faint sound of a shower.

Fuck.

Though his eyes burn, Gladio squints, searching for the others. Gods, what the hell happened? He looks to the left and sees Ignis sitting on a chair by the door. His chin rests on his chest, his glasses hanging off his nose. His hair’s a mess, a cute one at that, and Gladio gives a brief smile, wishing he could reach out and run his hands through it.

Then his eyes fall to the bandages covering Ignis’ arm.

_(“Ignis!” Gladio calls out. Ignis’ cry of pain was like a scream in his ears, but he can’t spare a glance backwards at the adviser. Noct’s in front of him, and dangerously close to a wyvern, so Gladio runs forward, leaving Ignis behind and praying that Prompto would get a potion to him in time. He’s not supposed to care about him like that but gods, he can’t help himself, even now, after all these years.)_

Gladio ignores the spike of pain as he pushes himself upwards, cursing all the while. Seeing Ignis hurt would mean that Noct’s okay but _fuck,_ that’s not Ignis’ job to do. He’s not supposed to be the one getting hurt. He curses again, and that’s when he hears shuffling coming from the other side of the room.

“Gladio!” Noct’s face appears in front of his, unharmed. Gladio breathes easy, and Noct eases him down. “Don’t try to move. You’re hurt.”

“Yeah,” Gladio grits out. “I can tell. What about you? And Ignis? Where’s Prompto?”

Noct pulls his hands away from Gladio and into his lap. He sits on the edge of the bed, his eyes not quite meeting Gladio’s. “He’s fine. Just a couple of scratches. Prompto, too. He’s just in the shower right now. And I’m fine. Thanks to you.”

_(Gladio summons his shield, hearing the wyvern’s talons scrape along the metal. With his free hand, he pushes Noct away, but the shithead doesn’t run like he’s supposed to. He summons a lance, one of Ignis’, and warps into the air._

_He comes crashing down a second later, the lance gone straight through the wyvern’s head. It struggles, kicking its wings, only to go still as blood begins to pool around its body. Noct wipes his face with a smirk and that’s when Gladio catches sight of the saphytail right behind him._

_Because why the fuck not. Apparently a hunt for three wyverns wasn’t bad enough and the gods had to be assholes and have a hoard of saphytails show up too._

_Gladio doesn’t have enough time to tell Noct to move. There’s not enough time to block the saphytail’s stinger. So Gladio, true to his title, pushes Noct out of the way, using his own body as a shield. The stinger tears through his stomach and Gladio can hardly hear Noct’s cry over his own roar of pain._

_His vision goes blurry as he falls to the ground. Ignis calls out his name, his normally calm demeanor completely thrown away, and Gladio's pulled into the darkness.)_

Gladio winces. Right. That’s what happens when you take a hit for your prince. Oh, well. “You’re welcome.” He smirks but it just as quickly vanishes under Noct’s furious look.

“Don’t— don’t say that! How can you be so casual about this?” Noct clenches his hands into fists. His voice is quiet, though it’s anything but gentle as he hisses, “You could have _died!”_

“Noct—”

“You were unconscious for _three days,_ Gladio! _Three fucking days!”_

Gladio lets out a long breath. So that’s why he feels sore as fuck. Shit. He hadn’t realized his injuries were that bad. Still. “But I’m here, ain’t I? I’m still alive and more importantly, you are too. Just doin’ my job. It’s my duty as your Shield.”

“That doesn’t make it any better!” Noct slams his fists down on the bed with more force than necessary. “It doesn’t change the fact that you almost _died_ because of—”

“Noct,” Gladio growls. “Don’t you fucking _dare_ say it’s because of you. It wasn’t your fault. It’s never your fault. Shit happens on the battlefield, alright?”

“But—”

“This isn’t just about you! If you let yourself get killed, who’s gonna be there to lead Lucis? Who’ll fulfill the prophecy? When are you gonna realize that _you-have-to-survive?”_ Gladio punctuates each word with a prod to Noct’s shoulder.

“That’s— ugh, don’t you think I know that?!” Noct’s raising his voice now. God. It’s like every time they talk nowadays, it turns into an argument. But this time, Noct sighs and slouches his back. It’s not anything like the royal posture he’s been trained since birth to sit like and it’ll probably kill his back, but Gladio can’t bring himself to chide Noct for it. His quieter when he speaks.

“I’m just… tired. Of people sacrificing everything for me,” Noct’s voice breaks on the last word. Gladio’s left speechless; he can’t even bring himself to reach out to Noct. This is the most vulnerable he’s seen him since… a long time. “They give me everything because I’m the prince or the chosen or some shit like that and I don’t know what to do with all of it.”

Gladio swallows down the lump that’s in his throat. “Noct, that’s…” His voice trails off because what’s there to say? He’s never been in Noct’s position. He doesn’t know what it’s like to be the last one standing after everyone else has fallen— he’s supposed to be the one that falls first, after all. Anything he’ll say will sound empty, so Gladio just goes with what he knows is true. “Noct, you really think I protected you back there just because I was your Shield?”

“Yeah?” Noct says, like Gladio’s stupid. His voice isn’t sad, just… heavy with resignation and somehow, that hurts even more. “Isn’t your duty the most important thing to you?”

“It is,” Gladio admits. “But being your friend— that’s important to me too. I protect you ‘cause I care about you, you little shit. Prince or not, chosen or not, you’re still just Noct to me, yeah?”

And Noct’s taken aback, genuinely taken aback, like he can’t believe what Gladio’s just said, that he’s not just sticking around out of honour. Scratch that, _this_ look right here is what hurts the fucking most, a dagger straight through Gladio’s heart. But then Noct smiles and says, “...Thanks, Gladio.” and that soothes the pain, just a little, but it’s more than enough.

“Anytime.” Gladio gives a crooked smile of his own and he tries to move again but his body doesn’t listen. Noct just raises an eyebrow and lays a hand on Gladio’s chest.

“You’re not moving. Doctor’s orders. And I still have to change the bandages on your arm anyways.”

Gladio’s saved from having to retort when the bathroom door opens and out strolls Prompto. The light spills into the room, warm yellow chasing away the dark. He hadn’t even noticed the shower being turned off. Prompto’s eyes widen at the sight of Gladio and he rushes to the bed, dumping a wet towel on the ground in the process.

“Gladio! You’re awake!”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“Oh, y’know,” Prompto rubs the back of his neck. “The usual? Uh, it’s nice to see you up. How’re you feeling?”

“Like shit.”

That earns a tiny laugh from Prompto. “I’ll bet. You got fucked up out there.”

“ _Prompto!”_ Noct exclaims. “Not cool!”

Gladio shrugs the best he can. “Nah, it’s cool. It’s the truth, ain’t it? I’m not exactly covered in all these bandages because they make me look good.”

“Right. Still gotta help you change them.” Noct jumps to his feet and Prompto looks up to Noct for a moment.

“Hey, how’s about you let me change Gladio’s bandages while you hop in the shower?”

“Huh? No, I can shower after.”

“Forreal? You were practically _begging_ to go first. C’mon man, you stink and you can trust me.” Prompto winks and Noct looks at Gladio for approval, like he’s the kid’s parent or some shit.

“Take a shower.” Gladio rolls his eyes. “I’ll live.”

Noct visibly wilts but he relents. “You better,” he says and then he’s slamming the door shut to the bathroom, leaving Gladio and Prompto behind. Ignis doesn’t even stir, dead to the world.

Gladio’s eyes fly back to the bandages on Ignis’ arm.

Okay, so that wasn’t the best term to use.

“Well,” Prompto says and there’s a flash of blue as he reaches into the armiger and pulls out a roll of bandages. “You ready to get started, big guy? Just gotta fix up the ones on your arm. Iggy already replaced the ones on your chest before he passed out.”

“He’s… alright, isn’t he?”

“Yup. Mostly exhausted though.” Prompto gets to work, gently unwrapping Gladio’s left arm. “He refused to sleep the first night, y’know. Noct and I had to practically tie him down to the bed to get him to rest. Bribing him with Ebony didn’t even work.”

“Fuck.” Gladio leans his head back against the pillow and stares at the ceiling. “Guess it’s better to let him rest then.”

“Aw, don’t be like that. You can talk to him later,” Prompto says with a knowing look in his eyes. Little shit.

“Yeah.”

The sound of a shower starts up again. Prompto dabs ointment on Gladio’s arms. It burns and he clenches his teeth, shaking his head when Prompto asks if he should slow down. The kid’s surprisingly good at it, his touches light and delicate. He’s biting his lip in concentration and his hair is still damp from his shower, laying flat against his head.

He looks so young, almost exactly like what he first looked like when Gladio met him back way when. Just a dumbass kid trying to live a normal life. Going to the arcade, suffering from all-nighters spent studying, hanging out with friends at a diner. Giddy and optimistic and cheery and talkative. The journey’s taken so much of his spark, Gladio remarks.

“...How’re you holdin’ up?” Gladio eventually asks, because Prompto’s silence is too unfamiliar to deal with.

Prompto tuts. “Why’re you asking me? You’re the one laying on the bed.”

“Thought we already established that I feel like shit and I’m recovering. What about you? I saw you get struck by a saphytail.”

“Oh yeah.” He wrinkles his nose. “Nah. I’m good. Iggy fixed me up with a potion and antidote. Didn’t even leave a mark.”

“That’s good. You didn’t get hurt anywhere else during the hunt?”

“You were protecting me, remember? Got rid of the wyvern that was a coming right at me. Thanks for that, by the way, that was fucking terrifying.”

“Can’t exactly let you get killed, can I?”

“Guess not.”

Prompto falls silent again. He’s wrapping the bandages more slowly than necessary and his lower lip is trembling, just barely impossible to catch in the dim lamplight. Prompto takes a deep breath. “Isn’t it… scary?” he asks, so quietly that Gladio has to wonder if he said anything at all. “Putting yourself out there?”

“...Yeah. It is. But it’s scarier, thinking of anybody I care about getting hurt.” Gladio catches Prompto’s eye. “...What? I’m a human, y’know. I feel emotions too.”

“Really? Coulda sworn you were just a behemoth,” Prompto laughs, but it’s too forced. There’s no humour behind it. He shudders as he finishes wrapping the bandage. “But yeah. You are human. You have emotions. So can you maybe try expressing them once in a while, too? Noct and Iggy were worried as hell about you.”

“Coming from you, I don’t know how to take that.”

“Ah—” Prompto burns red. “Y’know! Just. Tell us when you’re feeling bad or something like that. Like, don’t just say you’re fine when you’re not. I know it’s kinda in your job description to always be this strong protector, but you can let yourself relax around us, too.”

Gladio considers this for a moment. He thinks of Noct— the way he pushed him to keep moving forward after Insomnia fell, the way he’d offer a shoulder when the death of King Regis weighed a little too heavy. The way he pushed the death of his own father to the back of his mind, turned his grief into a stronger desire to protect.

Ignis said something like that, too, back in the Citadel one night, after Gladio spent the day nursing him back to health after he overworked himself. _Let me repay this favour,_ Ignis had said. _If you ever need support, I will be here for you._

( _Alright,_ Gladio had said and he never did burden Ignis with his insecurities or worries because he had enough on his plate already. And then _that_ had to happen and any chances of Gladio telling him in the future died away.)

“...Alright,” Gladio finally says. “But only if you do the same.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t think I haven’t noticed the way you never let us know when you’re feeling bad. I’ll start talking about my feelings more only if you agree to do the same.”

Prompto hesitates for a moment, then he nods. “‘Kay. It’s a deal.” He pats Gladio’s arm, stands up and stretches. “Say, you getting hungry? I’m sure Iggy’ll let it pass if you eat Cup Noodles tonight.”

“You think so?”

“...Honestly? Probably not. He’s got the worst vendetta against them. Sucks, man, but I guess it’s a good thing he’s sleeping, huh?” Prompto smiles mischievously and his eyes light up. Gladio laughs.

“Yep. I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“Deal.” And Prompto’s gone out the door. Gladio looks back to Ignis, his chest gradually moving up and down. He really does look exhausted. And it’s because of him.

Gladio shuts his eyes. Listens to the sound of the shower running and the wind blowing through an open window. He pushes all thoughts of Ignis to the back of his mind because that’s another type of pain he doesn’t need added onto his already-aching body.

By the time Prompto gets back, Gladio’s fast asleep.

* * *

 Gladio wakes up again, albeit a bit more gracefully this time.

It’s still dark outside, and a little chillier. He can see two dark silhouettes on the bed next to him, Prompto and Noct fast asleep. Ignis has moved closer to Gladio’s bed, his chair right beside him. His glasses are tucked in his shirt pocket this time, but his neck’s bent at an angle that’ll kill him in the morning.

Gladio reaches over and turns on a lamp, the light illuminating the dark circles under Ignis’ eyes. He stares at him for a moment, whispering a silent apology. Then, Gladio lays a hand on Ignis’ knee and shakes him softly.

“Hey. Iggy. Wake up. Iggy?”

Ignis mumbles something under his breath. Gladio shakes him again, a little more insistently this time and Ignis snaps awake with a jolt, looking around wildly.

“Ah— what’s going on?” Ignis’ eyes lock onto Gladio and he gasps. “ _Gladio!_ Oh, you’re awake, thank goodness!”

“Yeah. I woke up earlier, too, but I guess I passed out again.”

“Yes, Noct and Prompto informed me that you were up and— why are you awake again?” It’s like somebody flipped a switch in Ignis. “Are your injuries hurting you?”

“No? I’m fine," Gladio says, but Prompto's voice echoes in his ears. _It's okay to say you're not okay_ , y'know. "Er, as fine as I can be.”

Ignis gives Gladio a look that tells him he doesn’t believe a single word Gladio just said. Even so, he exhales. “Are you sure? Then why did you wake me up?”

“It’s gotta be uncomfortable sleeping like that on the chair. You’d be sore as hell in the morning.”

“I see.” Ignis moves to push his glasses higher on his nose, only to realize mid-way that he doesn’t have them on. He settles for brushing his hair away from his eyes. “Why didn’t you wake me up before?”

“You looked exhausted, so I thought I’d let you sleep. Prompto told me you barely slept since the hunt.”

“Yes, well, I couldn’t exactly _relax_ while you were knocking on death’s door just a few feet away from me,” Ignis says. He looks away from Gladio, to the window. There’s so much Gladio can say. Crack a joke. Say it’s part of his job. Insist that he wasn’t really _that_ bad. But he just stays silent.

A breeze brushes through the room. The clock on the wall ticks, steady, and Prompto shuffles around in his sleep.

“When I saw you fall…” Ignis begins, his voice a hoarse whisper. “I thought that… I had lost you. I was so _scared,_ Gladio. There was so much _blood_ and you wouldn’t respond, even after the potions I used on you. I… I was beginning to think you’d never wake up.”

The room’s suddenly so suffocating. Gladio wants to get up, to move, to get out, but he’s stuck laying down. “Not gonna lie, I was pretty scared, too.”

Ignis looks at Gladio out of the corner of his eyes. He hesitates, then he all but throws himself into Gladio’s arms, pulling apart until their faces are inches apart. His eyes are shining.

“Do you have any idea how _worried_ I was?” he says and Gladio doesn’t answer because there’s no way he’d get it. He’s never had to watch somebody he cared about lying unconscious on bed, on the brink between life and death. “To think that I could have lost you, and without telling you that… that I…” Ignis clamps his jaw shut with a snap.

Gladio knows where this is going; it’s clear in Ignis’ tone. He knows what Ignis is leading into. He knows that they’re not supposed to be saying this.

He doesn’t stop him.

“Gladio. When I saw you get struck by that wyvern and I had to deal with the realization that you could have died… it made me realize…” Ignis pauses and takes a deep breath before continuing. “It made me realize that I regret not having acted upon my feelings for you.”

Gladio shuts his eyes. “Iggy. We… talked about this before.”

Once upon a time. It happened so long ago, yet the memory’s as clear as ever. Hushed voices whispered under the cover of night down an empty hallway in the Citadel. Eyes that couldn’t quite meet. Duty comes first, they had both agreed. We cannot keep this relationship together. A painful goodbye, a final kiss.

It was so cold, that night.

“I know,” Ignis says. “But… things are different now. Insomnia has fallen. I have scarce more than you, Prompto and Noct. I don’t want to lose what little I have left, nor do I want to live with any regrets.”

“You’re saying that you want to try things again?” Gladio can hardly believe the words coming out of his mouth. They’re only something he’s ever imagined himself saying in a dream.

“Essentially, yes.”

Gladio finally opens his eyes, Ignis’ own are staring deeply into his. “Ignis. Not everything has changed. You know that you can’t be my first priority. It’s always going to be Noct.”

“I know,” Ignis repeats. “And that’s what I love about you, Gladiolus. Your sense of duty, your desire to protect— it’s something I’ve admired in you since the very start. We cannot be each other’s first priority. Noct will always be my first, as well. But that doesn’t mean that I care about you any less.”

“All these years and you still feel the same way about me?”

“If anything, my feelings for you have only grown stronger.”

Despite it all, Gladio chuckles under his breath. “I’d be lying if I said I was any different.”

“So what are we waiting for?” Ignis says and like before, all those years ago, he’s the one that makes the first move. Ignis crashes his lips into Gladio’s, so desperately, like he’s trying to make up for the years they spent apart. His lips are soft, and they’re oh, so familiar, making Gladio wonder why he ever walked away from Ignis that night. Gods, he was so stupid to let him go just like that.

Ignis crashes his lips into Gladio’s, so desperately, so forcefully, and Gladio can do little but moan as he opens his mouth to take in more of Ignis. His lips are soft, and they’re oh, so familiar. They fall into each other like it’s second nature— maybe it is. They kiss each other again and again, as if trying to make up for all the years they spent apart.

They break apart for air, and Gladio’s staring into Ignis’ eyes, pupils blown with desire, his lips swollen and looking so much more kissable.

“Don’t ever make me worry like that again,” Ignis murmurs.

“You know I can’t promise you that.”

Ignis sighs. “I do,” he says, and he pulls Gladio closer to kiss him again with a tenderness he’s never felt before. Gladio’s dreamt about kissing Ignis again for years, wondering what he’d say to him, prepared endless speeches about how he felt towards him. And now, everything’s fading away, leaving Gladio’s mind blissfully blank, filled with nothing but _Ignis_ as he kisses him back.

They don’t need to say anything. Their bodies talk for them, Ignis bringing one hand to caress Gladio’s cheek, his thumb just barely running over the scar along his face. Gladio moans under Ignis’ grip and snakes one of his arms around his back, only to pull away with a hiss of pain.

“ _Shit!”_

“Gladio!” Ignis gasps. “Are you alright?”

“S’fine. Got a little carried away, is all.” Gladio massages his arm, shaking off the pain. He surges forward again to kiss Ignis, only to be stopped by Ignis’ finger on his lips.

“Wait, Gladio,” he says. Gladio has half a mind to take Ignis’ finger into his mouth and do something lewd but Ignis has that serious expression on his face. Maybe later, then. “We should probably… stop. No— I didn’t mean like that,” he adds hastily at Gladio’s crestfallen look. “It’s late in the night and I’m sure you’re exhausted. It would be wise to get some rest. There will be plenty more time for kissing later.”

 _Later._ Just the way he says it makes Gladio’s heart soar. “So you’re not kidding. You really want to try things between us again.”

“Kidding? Why would I be joking about this, Gladio?”

“You wouldn’t be. It’s just that I never imagined I’d get so lucky.” Gladio trails kisses from Ignis’ forehead down to his mouth, where he can feel him smile against his lips. “C’mon. We’ll sort out the rest in the morning, then.” He shuffles to the end of the bed, motions to the other side. Ignis cocks his head in confusion. “What? You think I’m letting you sleep on the couch?”

“You want me to sleep next to you?”

“It’s nothing we haven’t done before.”

“Yes, but before, you weren’t quite six foot six and if I recall correctly, your bed was much larger than this one.”

“We’ll make it work.”

Ignis scoffs, but he’s wearing a soft expression as he climbs into Gladio’s bed. “Honestly. You’re incorrigible. Are you comfortable?”

“One sec,” Gladio says. He pulls the covers over them, then pulls Ignis closer until he’s nestled within his arms. “Now I am.”

Ignis buries his face in Gladio’s shoulder. “Let me know if your injuries start hurting.”

“Alright. ‘Night, Iggy.” He runs his fingers along Ignis’ back. They’re holding each other so tightly, Ignis’ warmth chasing away the chill of the night, filling a piece of Gladio he hadn’t realized he’s been missing for years. If he closes his eyes, he can almost pretend that he’s back in Insomnia. The king and his father are alive. There’s no war on the horizon, no wedding. He and Ignis are just two lovestruck teenagers, sneaking out at night to be with each other, hiding notes in lockers and notebooks for the other to find.

But Ignis has more scars and his body’s so stiff, because Insomnia’s burned down, nearly everybody they know is dead and they’re fighting a losing war, living without knowing if today will be their last.

Gladio tugs Ignis closer, listens to his heartbeat. And the thought of tomorrow, of another day spent fighting and running, doesn’t seem so scary anymore, not with Ignis in his arms. He’s already let him go once and Gladio vows to never make that same mistake again, no. Not ever. He won't mind spending the rest of the days fighting, so long as Ignis remains by his side.

Ignis exhales softly. “Goodnight, Gladio.”

They're both asleep in minutes.

**Author's Note:**

> oh fun fact: y'know that one line i wrote about gladio not knowing what it's like to watch someone you love lay injured in bed, unconscious?? it's okay!! gladio finally finds out what that's like after altissa, when he's kept waiting by iggy's bedside as he recovers from his injuries, never knowing if he'll wake up again ☆
> 
> n_n


End file.
